The State of Wyoming

A museum highlighting the history of the Mormon Trail
is found in the
Martin's Cove / Devil's Gate area.
Devil's Gate is a narrow chasm through a ridge of solid granite. The
narrow canyon forced wagon trains in the 1800's to pass around the end
of the ridge rather than through the gate.

If wagon trains on the Oregon Trail reached Independence Rock by
approximately the 4th of July, they could make it through the mountain
passes further west before heavy snowfalls became a problem.

As white settlers moved westward, Wyoming's Fort Laramie outpost played
a significant role, first as a fur-trading center, then as a military
station. It was a landmark and a way station for over 50 years for
trappers, traders, emigrants, Pony Express riders, missionaries, and
miners heading west.